As our historic election approaches next week, we are disappointed that the Columbia administration continues to oppose unionization and expend time and resources sending emails like the one from the Provost this afternoon.<\/p>\n
It is particularly disappointing to see such aggressive efforts to sway our opinion given that the Provost still has not accepted our standing invitation to a collegial, open debate on the question of unionization.<\/a><\/p>\n Especially with a US president-elect who has already said he wants to slash federal support for climate research and restrict opportunities for international students after graduation, we hoped the university would embrace our union as a potential ally on such issues and would see us as a partner in working to make Columbia better, more inclusive and more competitive. NYU saw the value of this approach in 2013 when it signed a historic union neutrality agreement the administration believed would \u201cimprove the graduate student experience, and will sustain and enhance NYU\u2019s academic competitiveness.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n